Are e-comm evaders Flipkart’s new advertising TG?

So, in order to reach out to this set of people, e-commerce players like Snapdeal, Flipkart, Amazon, eBay, Myntra, Jabong etc heavily advertise across touch points.India’s e-commerce industry is growing at a massive speed and as per several published reports it is expected to reach $100 billion by 2020. Subsequently, the growth of e-commerce has also to be attributed to the increase in the internet and smartphone penetration across the country. As a result, a large number of people have adopted online shopping, but there is also a huge section of audiences who still do not use this platform.

So, in order to reach out to this set of people, e-commerce players like Snapdeal, Flipkart, Amazon, eBay, Myntra, Jabong etc heavily advertise across touch points. In fact, according to the Indian media buying – planning agencies, e-commerce turned to be the biggest advertisers of the country. Most of their campaigns are around discounts, urging consumers to shop or sellers to join the platform. This includes both new and old players in the industry. However, some of the bigger advertisers of the ecommerce industry include.

In the most recent endeavor, Flipkart has launched a series of digital ad films #EveryoneOnFlipkart that aims to celebrate the existing consumers and bring others who for long have been evading the platform. It brings out human stories from different walks of life, generations, and cultures to highlight the simple ways in which Flipkart has become the common thread connecting the nation and its aspirations.

Conceptualized by Dentsu Webchutney, this campaign aims to influence people who’ve been resisting shopping online and urge them to start buying from Flipkart as everyone around them is already doing it.

The first film titled Rastogiji On Flipkart, is the story of the ‘gyaani’ of every group guilt tripping his friend for cheating on their neighborhood shopkeeper Rastogiji, by shopping on Flipkart leading to an unexpected and heart touching twist in the end. The other three videos include “know-it-all” Mausi, friendly smart-alec watchman and the true-blue Mumbai cop.

The campaign also showcases the diversity of the consumers and sellers on the platform.

The films clearly try to tell people about the key aspects of ecommerce platforms such as availability of wide range of products, seller programs, efficient delivery and trust.

Speaking about the campaign, Shoumyan Biswas, VP, Marketing, Flipkart, says, “At Flipkart, as the market leader, we believe that driving market development and accelerating adoption across different consumer segments ​is one of ​our key focus areas. The campaign, therefore, is a tribute to every Flipkart shopper across the country, an invitation to everyone else to start their online shopping journey with us​ and a reflection of our commitment towards organizing and democratizing retail in India.”

The campaign will run for a couple of weeks, and have a series of contests to engage audiences. The films were shot in a two-day schedule by Gajraj Rao, Director.

PG Aditya, Associate Creative Director, Dentsu Webchutney, says, “The idea was to create great content that ‘happens to be an ad’. The fact that Flipkart has been a brand led by human stories only made that easier. As an agency, we’re extremely proud of these films. And to think they were produced as a digital-first effort only furthers my belief that this unsaid ‘caste-system’ of platforms that’s there in advertising is rapidly breaking loose.”

Prashant Gopalakrishnan, General Manager – Strategic Accounts, Dentsu Webchutney, says, "Brands today are storytellers. Stories are the real heroes and the brand stays in the background. This is what makes content share-worthy. For #EveryoneOnFlipkart, it was very important for us to capture India's diverse cultural flavour. This made us partner with Gajraj Rao as our director. His deep rooted understanding of various cultural nuances coupled with his ability to tell a story in its simplest form is what made these films possible."

Good Enough?

Flipkart definitely has the first mover advantage in the country’s e-commerce space. It has built on its advantage and is extremely high on recall and other brand aspects, so much so that whosoever is on internet, knows the platform and has atleast shopped once. Now, with this campaign, will Flipkart be successful in bringing new users?

Saket Vaidya, SVP and Regional Head, North India, Indigo Consulting, points out that the brand’s brief to the agency was to establish Flipkart as ubiquitous. “The campaign has been executed very nicely and has gone beyond youth thereby connecting with other age and socio-economic categories. ‘Rastogiji’ film points at how Flipkart enables local sellers, ‘Traffic Cop’ film points at massive reach in terms of delivery, ‘Mausi’ and ‘Watchman’ film points at the range and convenience of shopping. Moreover, the film shows different geographies of the country showcasing how the brand covers a wide range of terrain. Moreover, it is good that the brand has not tried to show everything into one film,” adds Vaidya.